An important part of the contractors preliminary planning is the method statement, which sets forth in words and sketches the steps and special considerations that will be involved in assembling the project in the field, if the contractor is selected. Every contractor will have its unique approach to this statement. Depending on the contractor and the size and complexity of the project, the statement may consist of only a few pages or as many as several hundred. On the basis of this statement, the cost estimators will be able to provide the expected cost of each operation. In essence, the project is built on paper prior to submitting the tender. If the tender is successful, the method statement becomes the basis for the detailed job planning that takes place after the award of the contract and before the start of field work. Important activities leading to the development of the statement include a constructability analysis, the development of a schedule, equipment and labour requirements analyses, environmental protection and safety planning, and transport and traffic needs forecasting.
For some contracts, the contractor does not prepare the method statement only for its use; rather the tender process may require that contractors submit their method statements as part of their proposals, to be judged as one factor among the selection criteria.
Consider the construction of a bridge, tunnel and embankment project across an open water harbour, perhaps linking two countries in northern Europe. Surely the project sponsors and their financial backers will require each interested contracting organisation to submit a method statement with its tender. Each statement would probably be as long as this book, but we can indicate some of the topics to be addressed in the section on procurement, transport and assembly methods, as follows:
anticipated sources of supply and fabrication of major bridge components and their method of transport to the site;
methods for dewatering and installing bridge abutment and pier foundations;
plans for concrete supply, either batched on site or transported from off site;
steps required to install piers and abutments;
steps required to install all bridge superstructure components;
sources of embankment materials and their methods of transport and placement;
dredging procedures down to bedrock and along the navigation channels that intersect the
bridge;
temporary navigation re-routing while obstructing the navigation channels;
efforts not to disrupt fish migrations during construction;
plans for removal of debris generated during construction from the sea bottom;
contingency plans in case of shipbridge and aircraftbridge collisions;
considerations of wind impacts on structural components during erection.
Without this information, the contractor will be unable to assemble a meaningful cost estimate,
nor can a reasonable preliminary schedule be put together.
